Ed Beard Offers Expertise in Public Policy and Government Issues as Fulbright Senior Specialist

By Leigh DuPuy

What did Ed Beard do on his summer vacation? For three weeks in June, Beard traveled to Caracas, Venezuela, to help the Instituto de Etudios Superiores de Administración (IESA), one of Latin America’s premier schools of management, develop a new program in public policy.

Beard was enlisted by the Fulbright Program, who had asked him to offer his expertise to IESA as a Fulbright Senior Specialist, through a new program offering short-term grants of two to six weeks to senior scholars.

"They knew of me and of the growing international activities at the McCormack Institute and its Center for Democracy and Development," he said. "We’ve offered our expertise on government and public policy issues to Russia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and China." As director of not only the McCormack Institute but also of the Master of Science in Public Affairs Graduate Program, and an associate professor of political science, Beard was the perfect scholar for the job.

While in Venezuela, Beard worked on a number of projects. He collaborated with his IESA colleagues to create a master’s level concentration in public policy, which administrators will offer students in the fall. He joined a team of IESA faculty members who had been asked to advise local government management in Baruta, a municipality near Caracas. Beard further shared his public policy and government expertise by presenting workshops and seminars on American government while at IESA.

Beard has been asked by Fulbright to return and evaluate IESA’s public policy program in late 2002, as well as the status of municipal improvements in Baruta. He looks forward to returning to the country. Speaking of the particular challenges it faces, he says, "Venezuela is in the middle of an interesting political and economic crisis. It is one of the most polarized and politicized countries I’ve ever been in." Beard believes creating experts in public policy will help the government become more responsible and accessible to its people.

Image: The McCormack Institute Director’s Ed Beard traveled to Venezuela as a Fulbright Senior Specialist in June. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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